The Science of Breathing: How It Supports Women's Health During the Menstrual Cycle

Aug 8

Between work, responsibilities, and everyday demands, it’s easy to overlook one of the most powerful resources we carry with us: our breath. In a life that moves fast and often feels overwhelming, conscious breathing can be more than just a wellness trend. It can be a quiet yet steady pathway back to clarity, stability, and personal agency, especially when the body is shifting through phases of tension, fatigue, or discomfort.

And when that breath is guided by real-time feedback, like what RESPA offers, it becomes easier to trust what your body needs in the moment, and to adjust without guesswork.

Your Breath Changes — Even If You Don’t Notice

Most women don’t realize how much their breathing shifts throughout the day. It speeds up in moments of stress or fatigue, shortens when we’re distracted, and becomes shallow when tension or emotional overload build up. During the menstrual cycle, these patterns can become more pronounced — especially when the body is dealing with pain, mental fog, irritability, or heightened sensitivity to stress.

Scientific research shows that rising progesterone levels can increase the sensitivity of your respiratory system, often leading to faster breathing and a sensation of breathlessness, especially during the luteal phase. [LoMauro & Aliverti, 2015] These changes in breath aren't just physical: they’re closely tied to the emotional and cognitive challenges that many women experience, reinforcing the need to pay attention to how — and when — we breathe.

And yet, these changes are rarely talked about. Instead, symptoms like low energy, irritability, insomnia, or overwhelm are accepted as “normal,” even when they significantly affect well-being. But here's what often gets overlooked: your breath mirrors your internal state, and learning to work with it can help you shift that state.

That’s where RESPA comes in. This small, wearable sensor allows you to see your breathing patterns clearly and in real time. You can track how your breath responds to different moments of your day, whether it's menstrual cramps, abdominal bloating, low mood, or general physical tension that often surfaces throughout the cycle.

With features like real-time alerts, guided exercises, and visual data on your breathing rhythm, RESPA doesn’t just reflect what’s happening, it helps you respond with more awareness and direction.

Breathwork for Common Menstrual Symptoms

Rather than focusing on hormone fluctuations or dividing the cycle into phases, let’s look at the real-world symptoms that many women experience, and how conscious breathing (with RESPA as your guide) can help manage them with more intention.

When You Feel Fatigued or Foggy

Many women report low energy or brain fog, particularly in the days before menstruation or on day 1–2 of the cycle. This is your body asking for softness, not strain.

Try:

Diaphragmatic breathing while lying down.
Exhalation-focused breath (inhale 3, exhale 6).

With RESPA:
You can see if your breath is shallow or fast — a common pattern when you’re running on empty. Slowing down your exhale helps restore balance, and with RESPA, you’ll notice when you start to settle. Over time, you can track whether these breathing practices are restoring your energy or if your system needs a different kind of support.

When You Feel Irritable or Anxious

Hormonal shifts can amplify emotional reactivity. Add external pressures, and it’s easy to feel on edge.

Try:

4-7-8 breathing (inhale 4, hold 7, exhale 8).
Ocean breath (Ujjayi) to ground and focus.

With RESPA:
It’s easy to think we’re breathing calmly, but RESPA helps you see if your breath rhythm is consistent or erratic. Its feedback can gently guide you to find a steadier pace.

When You Struggle to Sleep

Insomnia is a common experience in the luteal and menstrual phases. Rather than fighting it, breathing can be a way to quiet the system.

Try:

Breathing in bed: 4 count inhale – 2 second pause – 6 count exhale.
Progressive breath relaxation (breathing into each body part).

With RESPA:
Sleep doesn’t start when your head hits the pillow — it begins in how you wind down. RESPA’s visualization of your breathing trends over time helps you understand how nighttime breathing affects your quality of rest. As Zansors continues to develop affordable sleep-monitoring sensors, this kind of insight becomes more accessible and empowering.

When You Experience Cramps or Physical Discomfort

Tension and pain can alter breathing patterns, often making them shorter and shallower, which increases the perception of discomfort.

Try:

Long, steady exhalations.
Belly breathing with warmth on the abdomen.

With RESPA:
By showing your breathing depth in real time, RESPA helps you stay aware of whether you're holding your breath or tensing up, so you can gently redirect. Over time, this responsiveness supports not only relief, but also a deeper sense of bodily awareness.

What the Science Says

Research continues to show how breathwork can support physiological and emotional regulation:

Slow breathing improves heart rate variability (HRV), which supports resilience and reduces stress response. [Zaccaro et al., 2018]
Respiratory rhythm influences the autonomic nervous system, including emotional processing and pain modulation. [Van Diest et al., 2001]
Hormonal changes, like rising progesterone, affect how we perceive breathlessness and how the respiratory centers respond. [LoMauro & Aliverti, 2015]

But there’s more:

RESPA’s capacity to interpret these breathing patterns in real time allows women to respond adaptively during moments of tension or fatigue.
Its alerts are not only reminders to breathe, but cues that reflect back the current state of effort or calm — helping prevent overexertion, and fostering self-regulation.

That’s the strength of RESPA: turning complex science into something you can feel, see, and use.

Breath as a Daily Anchor

This kind of grounded breathwork — supported by real-time insights — is not limited to adulthood. As explored in our article on breathwork for children, helping young people recognize and regulate their breathing can foster emotional intelligence and reduce stress. The same principles apply here: when we pay attention to how we breathe, we create space for self-awareness and gentle regulation, no matter our age or context.

You don’t need to overhaul your day or sit still for 30 minutes. Breathwork becomes sustainable when it meets you where you are.

Try:

A few long exhales while making coffee.
A minute of box breathing before opening your laptop.
A calming breath routine in the car before pickup or drop-off.

The key isn’t perfection. It’s presence. And when you can observe your breath — with or without a tool — you give yourself permission to pause, adjust, and begin again.

RESPA supports your rhythm by helping you measure how you’re breathing during physical or emotional challenges, highlighting patterns that may impact your sleep or energy, and building a sustainable, data-informed practice that evolves with you.

Final Thoughts: Trust the Breath, Listen to Your Body

Your body changes every day — sometimes subtly, sometimes dramatically. Rather than resisting those shifts, you can learn to move with them.

Your breath is the one thing that’s always with you. And when supported by something that reflects it back to you clearly, like RESPA, you don’t have to rely on guesswork.

You just breathe.

And in that breath, you meet yourself — with calm, clarity, and care.

References

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6137615/
Zaccaro et al., 2018
“Slow Breathing and Heart Rate Variability”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4818213/
LoMauro & Aliverti, 2015
“Hormonal Changes and Respiratory Perception”

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5577533/
Van Diest et al., 2001
“Respiratory Rhythm and Autonomic Nervous System”